The admission tickets were arranged for in advance and box lunches were prepared so all that was necessary was to go and pick them up. Then wander through the gardens at a relaxing pace and eat whenever the mood struck.
What is pretty interesting is that the gardens were really an after-thought. Originally, the land was used for mining limestone for the production of cement...not a very good start for world-famous gardens. The wife of Robert Pim Buchart was mortified at the devastation caused by the mining technique used and decided that she would truck in some soil and start a garden to make the place pretty again. Fifty-five acres is a lot of soil and I have to say she did a heck of a job turning an eyesore into spectacular gardens. OK that is really the story, I will let the pictures speak for themselves... if you double click you can see enlarged photos.
This is an overview of the actual pit left from the mining operation
Then I wanted to get up close and personal with a few of the flowers that really got my attention
if you closely at this pretty yellow flower you will see a very attractive bee near the center, that was a bonus for my patience!
Don't ask me what these are, I only thought they were picture worthy.
Off in a little nook they built a carousel for the childern. Not using standard horses though. Here I caught a shot of a reindeer, a cat with a mouse and a frog...ah the fantasy of it all!
These flowers were just so pretty, I kept saying (out loud -- to anyone who would listen) they are so pretty they don't look real!
We then boarded the bus to travel to the southern end of Vancouver Island where we stayed for two nights to the Royal Scots Inn and Suites. They had a real, live Bag-piper to "pipe" us in. You don't find that everyday!
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